List of best-selling singles

This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles, based on claimed sales by various sources, certified units by certifying authorities worldwide, as well as year-end singles charts by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

A precise list of best-selling singles is hard to determine, as no organization has consistently tracked global music sales throughout history. Although the IFPI has published year-end global singles charts since 2007, it has never provided comprehensive all-time worldwide sales figures for singles. It is also difficult to compare the commercial performance of singles from different eras, due to shifts of music consumption over time. From the late 19th century to the early 2000s, physical singles were the major metric to measure a song's success. Digital downloads became the most dominant format between the mid-2000s and the mid-2010s, before being overtaken by music streaming.

According to the IFPI, a digital track purchase is roughly equal to 0.3 of a physical single. During the physical era, it was uncommon for singles to achieve Multi-Platinum certification compared to the digital era. During the first 55 years of RIAA certification (1958–2013), Elton John's "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" was the only single to receive Diamond certification for physical release. After the inclusion of streaming for RIAA certifications in 2013, three digital singles were immediately certified Diamond that year. By October 2019, a total of 33 singles had been certified Diamond by the RIAA.

According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. The song's success was before the existence of certification systems, hence the accuracy is often disputed. Guinness World Records also states that John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies". In 2023, Guinness World Records declared "Spotlight" by Chinese singer Xiao Zhan as the best-selling digital single of all time, with 54.3 million downloads. In 2025, Guinness World Records declared that Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was the best-selling single worldwide by a female artist, with over 24 million copies sold. According to official certifications worldwide, Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" is the highest-certified single ever.

By claimed sales

The following is a list of singles that have sold at least 20 million copies (pure sales) according to various sources. Since no official organization provides global record sales, reported figures are often exaggerations. Therefore, this list is ordered by the release year of singles instead of their claimed sales figures.

+Top singles with claimed pure sales of at least 20 million according to various sources Year Single Artist Claimed sales(in million) 1935 "Silent Night" Bing Crosby 30 1942 "White Christmas" 50 1946 "Petit Papa Noël" Tino Rossi 30 1954 "Rock Around the Clock" Bill Haley & His Comets 25 This figure was also cited through the 1980s by Guinness World Records, albeit with the caveat that the figure was an "unaudited" claim. By the time of the book's 1999 edition, the estimated sales figure had increased to 43 million, again as an "unaudited" claim. 1960 "It's Now or Never" Elvis Presley 20 1985 "We Are the World" USA for Africa 20 1992 "I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston 24 1997 "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" Elton John 33 2010 "Rolling in the Deep" Adele 20.6 2020 "Spotlight" Xiao Zhan 54.3

By year

+Best-selling singles of the year reported by various sources (non-IFPI) Year Single Artist 1966 "The Ballad of the Green Berets" Barry Sadler 1968 "Hey Jude" The Beatles 1969 "Sugar, Sugar" The Archies 1990 "Vogue" Madonna 1996 "Killing Me Softly" Fugees 1998 "My Heart Will Go On" Celine Dion

+IFPI's top singles of the year based on pure digital sales Year Single Artist Sales(in million) 2007 "Girlfriend" Avril Lavigne 7.3 2008 "Lollipop" Lil Wayne featuring Static Major 9.1 2009 "Poker Face" Lady Gaga 9.8 2010 "Tik Tok" Kesha 12.8 2011 "Just the Way You Are" Bruno Mars 12.5 2012 "Call Me Maybe" Carly Rae Jepsen 12.5

+IFPI's top singles of the year based on track-equivalent units Year Single Artist Units(in million) 2013 "Blurred Lines" Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell 14.8 2014 "Happy" Pharrell Williams 13.9 2015 "See You Again" Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth 20.9 2016 "One Dance" Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla 12.5 2017 "Shape of You" Ed Sheeran 26.6 2018 "Havana" Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug 19 2019 "Bad Guy" Billie Eilish 19.5

+IFPI's top singles of the year based on subscription-stream equivalents Year Single Artist Streams(in billion) 2020 "Blinding Lights" The Weeknd2.72 2021 "Save Your Tears" The Weeknd2.15 2022 "As It Was" Harry Styles2.28 2023 "Flowers" Miley Cyrus2.70 2024 "Beautiful Things" Benson Boone2.11 2025 "APT." Rosé and Bruno Mars2.06

List of best-selling singles

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